Children are referred for a psychological assessment for many reasons. They may have attention or behavior problems at home or in school, be subjected to bullying, be depressed or anxious, or have a learning disorder. Often when kids are struggling in school or seem to be behind their peers developmentally, a counselor or teacher will suggest the child undergo a psychological assessment.

The findings from this type of evaluation will let us know where the child excels and which areas he or she might need to address (for example: an undiagnosed learning disability). Dr. Ryan Seidman, the Clinical Director at our Children’s Center notes that, “Having your child evaluated can promote improvement in academic and emotional functioning.”

Who Performs a Psychological Assessment?

Psychological assessments are done by highly trained child psychologists who are specialists in their fields. These mental health professionals evaluate the child’s strengths and weaknesses, then work with parents and teachers to come up with an approach that will help the child progress.

How is a Child Psychology Test Done?

These assessments aren’t like “actual” tests can be and they aren’t something the child can study for. In fact, it is best if the child is relaxed during the evaluation, so the assessment isn’t a “pass or fail” test.

During a psychological assessment, the psychologist will:

Talk with the child (and later with their parents) to learn more about their behaviors and emotional skills. They will also look at the child’s neurological functioning in areas such as spatial processing. In some cases, they may also talk to the child’s teachers or others who know the child well.

Observe the child during the evaluation. Depending on the reason for the assessment, the child psychologist may also visit the child at home or at school to further gauge their interactions with others.

Have the child complete a standardized test. These tests have been taken by many different people and will allow the psychologist to compare your child’s results with those of others in order to evaluate a range of abilities. The psychologists want to know how the child functions in areas such as movement (dexterity) or behavior and in subjects like reading, writing and math.

May review school records, medical records, or test interview or the child’s parents or teachers in order to learn more about the child.

Psychological testing isn’t a quick assessment. The evaluation will likely takes several hours to complete and often involves more than one session to be certain the psychologist has all the details about a child. By putting this information together, the child psychologist comes to an understanding of where a child needs assistance and can develop strategies to help them reach their full potential.

The Results of a Psychological Assessment

When the testing is complete, the child psychologist will go over the results with the child’s parents. Keep in mind that the outcomes do not reveal everything about a child’s potential, abilities or skills. Rather, the evaluation is used as a way to learn about their “present functioning level” emotionally, in their school and home environments, how they learn, and their strengths and weaknesses.

The child psychologist will discuss areas in which the child does well and offer suggestions to help them improve in areas that need to be addressed. If the child is diagnosed with a learning disability, or a behavioral or emotional issue, recommendations will be made for ways to help the child manage that specific concern or problem.

By evaluating and understanding where the child has issues, child psychologists can provide positive coping strategies, reduce the child’s stress and enrich their competence and well being.

Learn More about Children’s Psychological Assessment

For more information about how our child psychologists can help your child with a psychological assessment, contact The Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Delray Beach, Florida or call us today at 561-496-1094.

October is National Bullying Prevention month. Organizations and schools use this month to raise awareness of school bullying, while working to prevent its impact on children.

School bullying is defined as the use of power to control another person. Bullying always intends to harm the targeted child – usually psychologically, but sometimes physically, as well. Additionally, bullying is carried out by the same person or the same group of people who repeatedly go after the same child. A child who is being bullied might be either unable to fight back against attacks or might have a hard time defending themselves.

The kids most at risk of being bullied are those who:

Are less popular than others

Have few friends

Are depressed or anxious

Have low self-esteem

Bullies typically:

Like to dominate others

Have social power

Are aggressive and often act impulsively

Are concerned about their popularity

Often also have issues with low self-esteem

Are easily pressured by their peers

About 1 in 4 children report having been verbally or socially bullied at school and most bullying happens in middle school, although it can occur at any grade level.

Types of Bullying

While bullying can be verbal (teasing, name-calling, threatening someone) or physical (for example: hitting, fighting, or forcing a person to do something they don’t want to do), today’s children also face social bullying:

Cyber bullying – Kids practically live on social media, but this has created an environment in which the bully can be anonymous. Since they don’t have to face their target or witness the effects of their bullying, they have little empathy for the pain they cause. Texting and social media allows the bully free reign to post embarrassing pictures, make rude comments, or post humiliating videos almost instantly and without recourse.

Slut shaming – censuring a female’s character in sexual terms in order to embarrass, humiliate, or intimidate her for actions that are a normal part of female sexuality. For example: a male teen may be praised for his sexual experimentation, however a girl may be bullied and called a slut. This scenario has been explored in Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why show (you can read our Children’s Center article about it here ). In the show, the girl who is slut-shamed ends up committing suicide.

Social Alienation – In social bullying, the idea is to damage someone’s reputation, get them excluded from social activities, and to get others to avoid them. This can often be accomplished by cyber bullying.

What are the Effects of School Bullying?

The symptoms of school bullying can be both physical and emotional. Your child may experience:

School refusal

Headaches, stomachaches or other aches or pains throughout their body

Weight loss

Nightmares and/or sleeplessness

A child who is bullied may avoid situations and interactions with others that could actually be positive for them. The effects of school bullying can create depression and anxiety disorders in the child who is being attacked. Often this depression and anxiety will stay with the youth and follow them into adulthood. In fact, someone who was bullied in school is more likely to be the target of workplace harassment as an adult.

Fight Back against Bullying

In all cases of school bullying, it’s important to seek help and report the incident as soon as possible. Ignoring the issue often makes it worse because the bully begins to think it is okay to continue hurting others. Additionally, the targeted child sometimes begins to believe what is being said about them.

Look at the kid bullying you and tell him or her to stop in a calm, clear voice. You can also try to laugh it off. This works best if joking is easy for you. It could catch the kid bullying you off guard.

If speaking up seems too hard or not safe, walk away and stay away. Don’t fight back. Find an adult to stop the bullying on the spot.

StopBullying.gov also lists things your child can do to stay safe in the future:

Talk to an adult you trust. Don’t keep your feelings inside. Telling someone can help you feel less alone. They can help you make a plan to stop the bullying.

Stay away from places where bullying happens.

Stay near adults and other kids. Most bullying happens when adults aren’t around.

Stand up for others When you see bullying, there are safe things you can do to make it stop.

Talk to a parent, teacher, or another adult you trust. Adults need to know when bad things happen so they can help.

Be kind to the kid being bullied. Show them that you care by trying to include them. Sit with them at lunch or on the bus, talk to them at school, or invite them to do something. Just hanging out with them will help them know they aren’t alone.

Additionally, child psychologists, such as the professionals here at The Anxiety Center, can work with your child to develop coping techniques that will teach them how to react in particular situations. Child psychologists can also help bullying victims rebuild their self-esteem and confidence so that future harassment can be avoided.

We Can Help

For more information about how we can help your child learn to defend against school bullying, contact the Center for Treatment of Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Delray Beach, or call us today at 561-496-1094.

About The Center for Treatment of Anxiety & Mood Disorders

We are a specialty practice serving children, teens, and adults who suffer from general and specific anxiety, mood and stress disorders. These include phobias, obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders, life stressor and marital issues, and children's anxiety disorders such as separation anxiety and school anxiety disorder. By using scientifically-based interventions, we can help people learn to overcome the problems that fear has caused in their lives.

Our practice has been helping people for over thirty years overcome their problems. Our psychologists and psychiatrists thrive on helping anxious people overcome their fears, worries, and compulsions so that they can learn how to live comfortably and confidently.

We are a proud Regional Clinic of the National Social Anxiety Center (NSAC). NSAC is a national organization dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of cutting-edge treatment for social anxiety.